Marriages & Money: Moll Flanders in the 18th Century

The main character's troubled life in Daniel Defoe's famous novel, "Moll Flanders," vividly represents the 18th century's complicated social beliefs and customs. Moll, a tenacious and resolute woman, navigates a series of marriages and relationships, each driven by a different set of circumstances formed by financial necessity, survival instincts, and a desire for social status. As we investigate Moll's marriages and liaisons, it becomes clear that her decisions were primarily affected by her need for stability and security in a culture where a woman's fate was critically dependent on her social position and economic possibilities. This examination sheds light on the brutal realities that women faced during this period when the desire for financial security frequently overshadowed problems of the heart. Moll's voyage is both a compelling narrative and a sad meditation on the complications of gender, class, and ambition in 18th-century England.

The first-person Moll had a relationship with the eldest son of the family she was staying with, and there was a promise of marriage between them. However, this promise was never official because this man's brother Robin was in love with Moll, and after many efforts, she married him, and they had two children. After Robin's death, Moll moved, leaving her children in that house, and met a drapery and made her second marriage. This marriage did not last long because the man went bankrupt and to jail, then escaped and told Moll to consider him dead. 

After Moll went to another place, she found her third husband, thanks to the captain husband of her friend, who was her neighbor. Because of Moll's friend, this captain had spread the word that Moll had a large amount of money, although it was not true at all. Despite looking at his reaction, saying that she is poor, the man persuaded her to marry him by saying that he wanted her not for her money but because he loved her. On the farm in Virginia, where they moved together, Moll asked her husband's mother to tell her about her past, and she was astonished by what she heard because, according to the stories, this woman standing in front of her was her mother and her husband was her half-brother. She keeps this secret for a while, and they keep fighting because she stays away from her brother/husband, so Moll talks to her mother and tells her everything that happened. After thinking for a while, she speaks to his brother about what happened, and the man tries to commit suicide, but in the end, Moll returns to England. 

“Before”–painting by William Hogarth

-Although they have an intimate relationship and children with a man in Bath, there is no formal marriage as this man is married. After being dumped by this married man, Moll meets a man who is a banker, again, with the introduction of a banker friend of hers, but although this man does not see his wife, Moll never agrees to sign a marriage contract because he is married and tells him that she will go to Lancashire and if he leaves his wife, he should send her to a letter. While Moll is in Lancashire, her friend spreads much fake news about her wealth, and she breaks her promise to the banker, marries James, whom she considers to be wealthy, and performs her fourth marriage. After a while, she realizes that she and James have been tricked, and they break up; although James returns to her again, on the way to London, they are apart again. While in London, Moll cannot meet the banker right away because she is pregnant with James' child. After the child is born and sold the baby, she starts seeing the banker again and marries him at an inn, making it her fifth marriage. 

Moll was the one who emphasized from the very beginning of the book that she wanted to be a lady; for her to be called a madam, not to serve, meant being a lady. She had an intimate relationship with the eldest son of the family, whom she stayed with after her nanny died. Every time something happened between them, the eldest son would give her money, which Moll liked very much because she did not need to do much to make money. She thought the man would marry her after receiving his father's inheritance, but all these plans were canceled after Robin, the youngest son of the house, also fell in love with her. Moll certainly did not want to marry Robin. Robin was nothing but the brother of the man she loved. That is why she said that this marriage was not possible unless he had the consent of his parents after he had transitioned her for a while; she knew that they would not give their consent. Although she lived for a while in fear that she would be kicked out of the house and left on the street, Robin convinced the family, and they got married. The motivation behind her marriage to Robin was not that she was in love with him or anything; of course, she did not feel anything for him, but that she had a roof over her head and someone to take care of her in the end. That is why they continued to be together until Robin died. 

Although they are not married, the motivation behind Moll's relationship with the 'gentleman' is also quite noticeable. She says that within the first hour of their conversation, if the gentleman had asked for sexual intercourse with her, she would have accepted it., not because she was in love, but because she needed help. Although she acknowledged that it was safer and more advantageous to be someone's wife than to be someone's mistress, she said that being with this gentleman made her feel like his wife. This gentleman assured her that he would take care of her no matter what and that he would take care of the baby if she had a child. That is why she continued to be with him for six years and lived a reasonably comfortable life financially.

Moll's bumpy relationship with a banker is also a relationship based on money as a result. Although she initially wished that she could not marry him because he already had a wife, after her union with another man named James, who intervened, she returns to the banker again because what she is looking for is technically not in James. She says that seeing him leave left a profound wound in her heart because it was a relationship that could have continued if she and James had not been poor. When she returns to London again and marries the banker, she says that she has obtained a very well-furnished house and a husband with a perfect financial situation, just as she wanted.

Being a woman in 18th-century values was more challenging than many times. Women needed to have social status or be with someone rich to lead a good life. Women were often expected to tend the garden, cook for the family, take care of the children, and see their husbands' needs met. However, Moll wanted to be a lady who did not do any of that. Therefore, although the life she lived as she grew up was different from that of a lady, she did her best to avoid any obstacles to reach a luxurious life. Because she was already from the lower class, she was an orphan. Life was even more complicated for her. At one point, she seemed to see nothing but money, so she did not care about anything as long as she had money.

Finally, Moll Flanders' convoluted web of marriages sheds light on the complex tapestry of 18th-century England, where financial necessity frequently influenced the direction of women's lives. We see the struggle for survival and social mobility in a society where a woman's worth is closely linked to her marital prospects and economic position via her story. Moll's unwavering quest for stability, even at the expense of traditional morality, highlights the difficult decisions women faced during this period. Her story is a striking reminder of the tenacity and resourcefulness displayed by women seeking freedom and stability in a world governed by rigid societal conventions.